Maybe 2.5 as it took me ages to get into it, then I enjoyed it for a while but the ending.... so convoluted I no longer wanted to live, or finish the book. ( )

Bone Cold. Erica Spindler. 2001. Peggy gave me this book and another when I was visiting her and Wych Thanksgiving. This a romantic suspense novel set in New Orleans. A young woman who was kidnapped when she was a child has changed her name, fled to New Orleans and become a successful mystery writer. Her life is turned inside out when she starts receiving letters from a child may also have been kidnapped. There are lots surprising plot twists that make this an interesting novel. ( )

What a phenomenal book! This was the first Spindler book I've read and I can't wait to start the next one. The story opens with a description of Harlow Grail's terrifying ordeal, and then we meet her new identity, Anna North. What follows is an incredibly well written psychological thriller about unwanted ghosts from the past reappearing. Unputdownable, it kept me guessing right till the very end! ( )

Interesting coincidence: The book I read directly before this featured a main character named Anastasia who went by Ana. The books I read directly before that took place in and around New Orleans. This book takes place in New Orleans and features a main character named Anastasia who goes by Anna.

Harlow Anastasia Grail, child of Hollywood Royalty was kidnapped at the age of eleven. She lost her innocence, her trust in the world and her right pinkie finger. She is now Anna North, a suspense novelist living in New Orleans and carefully guards her identity and location, but someone has discovered both, possibly her as yet un-apprehended original kidnapper. Now, 23 years later, someone is killing women who bear a startling resemblance to Anna, her friends and family have gotten anonymous mail telling them to watch an E! special that outs her, and a close friend of hers goes missing. NOPD Officer Quentin Malone is on the case, and fighting his attraction to the lovely and vulnerable Anna.

The action is riveting and suspenseful, a 512 page novel with no excess, nothing that screams to be cut. Complicated, complex, dynamic characters also add to the reader’s enjoyment. The setting is rich with detail and references to familiar places in the iconic city of New Orleans. The relationship between the two main characters is believable; despite the short time they’ve known each other and the intensity of the mystery surrounding them. The romantic scenes are protracted and not a distraction from the plot, nor an excuse to heat up the pages. This is a first-rate thriller that happens to have an element of romance, as opposed to a mediocre romance spiced up with a murder mystery (which most romantic suspense novels can’t help but be.) Much praise and kudos to Ms Spindler! ( )

My house is a mess because I couldn't stop reading. Full bodied characters, set description and suspense. This one is making the rounds of our book exchange. The only problem is who gets the book next. ( )